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Rupees 50

ShawwalDhu al-Qada 1434September 2013

Visionary Youth Great Nation

Volume 3 Issue 9

Ar Rahman ArYouth Certif

The Blessing C

Starts in the Da Too Shy to be

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MyVision Team Sha q ur Rahma , Exe u e Ed r

As f Khursh d, Ed rRaja Z a u Haq, Se r Ed r

Abdul Jabbar Bilal, AdvisorMansoor Salim, Advisor

Zofran Elahi, Advisor

Contact Suite #33, 2nd Floor, Rose-1 Plaza, I-8 Markaz

Islamabad-44000, Pakistan..m s . k ed r@m s . k

Contribute Your Articles MyVision is a magazine for young Muslims. If you

are young, or if you would like to write for kidsand teenagers, we welcome articles on topics

that are generally related to authentic guidancefrom the Quran and Sunnah, Islamic heros and

personalities, and how youth should live their livesrighteously.

If you or someone at your school is interested incontributing articles, we request that the contentbe relevant, thought-provoking, well-presented,

and non-promotional.

Contributing LengthFeatured articles should be around 600-words.The maximum length for all other submissions is

300-words.

Submitting Articles Authors should carefully review their text before

submitting the nal version. Please providereferences in the form of book names, web links,Quran or Hadith reference when quoting di erent

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Page 4 MyVision September 2013 Ar Rahman and Ar Raheem

Who is Allaah? Submitted by Sh. Abdul Jabbar

Ar Rahm

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Ar Rahman and Ar Raheem MyVision ShawwalDhu al-Qada 1434 Page 5

Ar Rahe

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parents heartbroken every singleday of our lives. When we hurtour parents, we are actuallyhurting ourselves. Who in theworld is crazy enough to doharm to themselves? Taking

into consideration the love theyhave given us, have we ever fora moment thought what theyhave been through to make ushappy? Are we grateful for whatthey have done for us? Havewe shown them our gratitude?Unfortunately, instead of lovingthem back, respecting them,being grateful and showinggratitude, we have always beencomplaining, blaming and hurtingthem. By refusing to choose a

positive attitude and thinking thatwhatever they have done for usis to restrict us in one way or theother is the biggest mistake ofour lives.

W e forget that parentsare the ones who havetaught us the meaningof life; they have taught ushow to live this life and lead alife of contentment. They arethe ones who have given useverything, from A to Z. Yet, weare ungrateful and disrespectfultowards them. We do not evenpay heed to what they have tosay and take them for granted. Isthis humanly possible? How canwe be so cruel?

It is our moral responsibility totake care of our parents. Weshould make sure that we begood human beings as whatever

we do in this world re ects uponour parents personalities andtheir upbringing. Listening to andobeying your parents is the onlyway we can show our parentsthat we really love them and carefor them. It is a way to showthem that their precious timethat they have spent in makingus great human beings has

not gone in vain and they havebeen successful. This is all theywant from us and we should doeverything in order to assure thisto them.

P ersonally, I make surethat I think of my parentswhile doing anything indaily life. Even though I havebeen away from them for a fewyears now and do not have theirwatchful eye over me, I think howmy parents would feel or reactif I did a certain thing and theyknew about it. I do it if I feel myparents would be happy and Idont if I feel the other way round.This way, I make sure that I do

the right thing in whatever I do,which is rst of all, of bene t tome and secondly, it makes themthe proudest parents when theycome to know and realize thattheir child cares for them and has

so much respect for what theywant you to be in life.

N o feeling in the worldis as great as the onewhich we get when weact in accordance to our parentswishes and desires. One feels ontop of the world when a childsparents are happy. When yourparents are happy and satis edwith you, it doesnt matter whatthe world thinks, does or says.

Parents are everything thatmatters.

We are in insurmountable debtwhen it comes to the amountof unconditional love we havereceived from our parents. Wecannot even repay one minute oftheir lost sleep that occurred asthey were caring for us, let alonea life long duration of continuoussacri ces that they have madefor us.

Parents are the Angels of ourlives and we should make surethat we do our best to make themhappy, ful ll their desires andtheir wishes. Without respect forones parents, a human beingslife is meaningless and whateversuccess he may have achievedin life is of no value if the peoplewho brought him in this world arenot happy. Parents are a gift of

Allaah who are to be cherishedforever. There is nothing we cando to repay them. The least wecan do is to respect them, lovethem and live our lives accordingto their wishes.

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Page 8 MyVision September 2013 The Beauty of Istighfar

www.fajr.wordpress.com By

W hen reading through the books, in particularthe biographies and statements of ourpious predecessors, one beautiful thingthat always amazes me is how important Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) was to our Salaf and howdeeply engaged they were in this particular act.Now, these were a people who lived and breathedIslam, whose hearts over owed with emaan , yaqeen (certainty), humbleness, and all good, and they wereof tremendous worth in the Sight of Allaah. Theywere the scholars, the righteous and pious, thesincere worshippers of Allaah `azza wa jall . They wereour best generations whose sins were few and gooddeeds were many. And yet, youll nd that they neverstopped seeking forgiveness. In fact, theyd spendsome of their nights weeping and some of their days

in sadness; always seeking forgiveness.

Incredibly, in our current times, weve come to almostabandon this virtue of constant istighfar and onlyseem to associate it with the major sins and whenwe fall into grave matters! But in reality, we shouldntseek forgiveness only when we fall into some wrong;rather it should be something thats continuouslypresent in our daily life regardless of whether weperceive a sin on our part or not. And this is whatkept the righteous people engaged in this virtuousact; they knew the nature of the soul and the natureof the human being. Sometimes we fall into sin,

sometimes we fall short in our duties, sometimes weforget and make mistakes, sometimes we lose sightof the ultimate purpose of our existence, sometimeswe lose track of our sincerity and intentions,sometimes we su er a spiritual loss without realisingit, and sometimes our Deen spirals downwards andwe do not even acknowledge it. We slowly begin tolose out on the Akhirah (Hereafter), but we remain incomplete obliviousness.

Seeking forgiveness and repentance is hence crucialfor the human who has these short-comings. Bynature and by de nition we are a creation prone toforgetfulness; and naturally we forget our sins andforget our shortcomings. For many of us, we do noteven acknowledge when we fall into the wrong andthis is perhaps the scariest thing.

The e ects of sin are many, but I just want to focuson a few:

One e ect of sin is that a person will nd1.themselves prevented from knowledge. I guesswere all aware of the famous poem by Imam al-Sha i wherein he said:

Point being is that Allaah is Tayyib (good) and Heaccepts only that which is tayyib (good). Sins onthe other hand are a form of oppression (as thesinner only oppresses themselves) and thisrepresents darkness as deduced from the hadith of the Prophet ( ) when he said, Oppression isdarkness on the Day of Judgement [Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Muslim] . The knowledge which

Allaah `azza wa jall has revealed and taught to HisMessenger (of Quran and Islamic ilm ) isenshrouded in light and is in fact light itself soits not proper for this light to remain in the darkcaverns of a sinners heart. Darkness and lightcannot coexist. So persisting in wrong willforever keep you in darkness and preventknowledge from reaching you and saving you.However, there is a way out When you allowknowledge to bene t you and you act upon it as

Istighfar T H E B E A U T Y O F T

H E B

E A U T Y

O F

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The Beauty of Istighfar MyVision ShawwalDhu al-Qada 1434 Page 9

much as possible (beginning with abandoningsins and breaking its chains), darkness willinstantly begin to fade away.

Another e ect of sin is that a person will nd2.themselves prevented from their rizq (provisions)

or restricted in their livelihood. Do you ever ndyourself in nancial constraints without knowingwhy? Do you nd that there is no barakah(blessing) in your money; the pay check arrivesand within a few days or weeks youre downto restricted means again? Maybe you keepseeking avenues to make a living but nd everydoor closes on you and frustration just keepsbuilding up? Perhaps this is a time to sit withyour soul and seek forgiveness.

When the slave of Allaah is continuous in istighfarand Allaah knows that they are always aware of

their doings and theyare cautious not tofall into sin, He willprovide for themat every instance,And whoeverfears Allaah Hewill make for him away out. And willprovide for him fromwhere he does notexpect [65:2-3] .He will bring them

job opportunitieswithout them evenseeking or searchingfor it. The blessingsof wealth, health andgood means is brought to them and the Dunyaitself brought to their feet. This is because themore God-conscious a person is, the higher theirlevel of taqwa . This means they are constantlythinking of their relationship with Allaah and theirfocus is on The Hereafter, so Allaah takes careof their dunya and lls their life with provisions tohelp them maintain their focus on The Hereafterand His Remembrance. How Kind He is,

subhanahu wa taala .

Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is evera Perpetual Forgiver. He will send [rain from] thesky upon you in [continuing] showers. And give youincrease in wealth and children and provide for yougardens and provide for you rivers. [71:10-12]

So the smart one realises that just as sinsprevent provisions in life, seeking forgiveness willexpand the provisions in their life, so they do notabandon it.

Another e ect of sin is that ones supplications3.

are prevented from being answered. Prophet ( )mentions in a hadith of a man who, Having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty andspreads out his hands to the sky saying, O Lord!O Lord! (crying out in dua ) while his food isunlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing isunlawful, and he is nourished from the unlawful,so how can he be answered?

This ties in with whats called akl al-haram in Arabic, i.e., consuming from the unlawful. Oneof the greatest dangers we face today is theconsumption of Riba (interest), the e ects of

which are deadly andtremendous. If thingsare not working out inyour life, if despite yourgood job and family,there always seemto be problems anddiscontentment in life,then seek forgiveness;perhaps major sinssuch as this have comebetween you and Allaahso you no longer ndpeace and happiness inyour provision.

The Messenger of Allaah ( ) taught us

well when he encouraged us with one particularsupplication in the grand month of Ramadaan. Hetaught us to engage in saying, O Allaah, You are thePardon and You love to Pardon, so pardon me.

Hence seeking forgiveness is not just for the sinner,but it is a habit of the righteous and pious. Allaahopens doors and bestows many blessings upon aperson by virtue of their istighfar and remembrance.

Lets make it our daily habit in-sha-Allaah

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Page 10 MyVision September 2013 Power of Creator vs. Power of Creation

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In our everyday life we come across many forces andpowers (man-made) and we get impressed by thembut there is another power (power of God) that is evenmore powerful and we come across it more often thanthe previous one. In fact it stays with us all the time,yet we ignore it.

The people have power of the man-made things and Allaah has power of the creation. And the power

of creation that has been created by Allaah is more stronger and more intense than the power of man-

made things that has been manufactured by man

To understand the power of man-made things, letsrst look at what are the man-made things. Someof the greatest inventions of man include electricity,computer technology, vehicles of transportation,weapons of war etc. As for the creation, it includesMankind, Angels, Djinn, mountains, trees, lands,oceans, winds, galaxies, etc.

P OWER OF M AN -M ADE T HINGS VS .

Id been wanting to write a comparison of the powerof man-made things and creation. Though Im notsharing hard facts with references for now, in my

search I learned a number of things that Im sharinghere.

M AN -M ADE E LECTRICITY VS .

Electricity was notproperly discovered forhuman use until 1600.Even today, the moststrongest of ashlightscan reach up to 10miles. A new light bulbhas been unveiled inthe US that, if used forthree-hours daily, canhave a life of about 27-years.

Lightning is aphenomenon that

scientists have not been able to fully discover up tilltoday. It occurs approximately 4050 times a secondworldwide, resulting in nearly 1.4 billion ashes peryear. In 15-minutes, the sun radiates as much energyonto our globe as humans use during an entire year.Fire ies produce light using chemical energy from theirfood. The light they give o is more e cient than thatof a light bulb. Fire ies lose only 1/15 of their energy to

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Page 12 MyVision September 2013 Power of Creator vs. Power of Creation

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Fresh air puri es the blood, imparts to it a bright color,and sends the blood, a life-giving current, to every partof the body. It soothes the nerves, stimulates appetite,helps digestion, and induces sound, refreshing sleep.It invigorates the vital organs and aids the systemin getting rid of an accumulation of impurities. Pureair brings life to the skin, as for a lack of air the skinnearly dies. It has a decided in uence on the mind,imparting a degree of composure and serenity. Freshair, especially when we exercise, will stimulate ourappetite, and greatly aid and improve digestion offood.

Some speci c problems that are greatly bene ted byhaving an abundance of fresh air are fevers, colds andlung disease. Research shows that fresh air helpskeep our moods buoyant and positive. Interactionwith nature reduces depression, promotes healing andsparks creativity. It even increases life expectancy byabout 15% over ve years, according to one Japanesestudy.

M AN -M ADE F ACTORIES VS .

Factories that manufacture various things for ourbene t are full of health hazards. According to theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA), it has beenestimated that industrial pollution is responsible foralmost 50% of the pollution present in the UnitedStates.

Global warming due to release of CO 2 and methane

(CH4 ) is one of the most common and seriousconsequences of industrial pollution and has serioushazards. It results in melting of glaciers and snow-capped mountains, causing an increase of the waterlevels in seas and rivers, thereby increasing thechances of ood. Also, it increases risk of diseasessuch as malaria and dengue, cholera, Lyme diseaseand plague, among others.

The emissions from variousindustries contain largeamounts of gases such ascarbon-dioxide, sulphur andnitrogen, among others.These gases, when presentin elevated levels in theatmosphere, often resultin various environmentaland health hazards such asacid rain, and various skindisorders in individuals.Water pollution as a result offactories results in the deathof various animal and plantspecies present in the water. Industrial wastes pollutethe soil such that they reduce plant growth.

As for factories ofnature, cattle is anexample. Their eshcan be eaten as meat.Their milk can be drankand turned into cheeseand yogurt. Their skincan be used as leather,clothing, shoes andbelts. They can pullcarts and plows. Theycan make the powerto turn our mills orpump water. The foodthat they eat is notexpensive, and oftennot in competitionwith what people eat.They look beautiful in

a green eld. They are meek and submissive, do notpounce on you when you go to milk them.

Glory be to the Creator! How do people not believein Him? How do they not obey Him? Humans are thebest of creation and still were so weak. Dont werealize that the perfection of all powers is in someHands unseen and the Most Powerful? Indeed, Allaahis the Greatest!

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There are some moments in life thattouch you forever! They make yourheart thump loudly with ecstasy andexcitement And you want to live thatmoment and do not want it to end, ever!

I live such moments about ve times a day.When the rst drop of water touches myhand, I feel a thrill pass through me. I washmy hands, rinse my mouth and nose, washmy face and arms, wipe my head with waterand wash my feet. Oh bliss! Its the wudu (Muslim ablution). Every organ of my bodyfeels that happiness as water caresses it.Its not just because it is summer, even inwinter I get the same feeling of joy.

I wondered what could be the reason ofthis, do I feel the same whenever I wash

my hands/face or take a bath? I realizedthat this was not the case. Then I thought,

maybe Allaah puts this special feeling of freshness,revitalization and joy only in performing the Muslimablution. Yes, this must be it!

Theres another thing that Im sure of. There must besome very deep wisdom hidden in washing only theorgans that were meant to wash during wudu . If theWestern scientists havent started searching on it,theyre missing on it big time. We could have been toldto wash the feet without including the ankles; or washthem, including the legs till knees;or not wash the arms. But theCreator xed the bodyparts to be w a s h e d .T h e r e must beh u g e h e a l t h

bene ts associated with this that would be mindblowing. Even the sequence of washing must havesomething deep in it, that we know not.

Just these refreshing feelings would have been enough,but then, Im rewarded for it too! But whaaat?! I enjoy

it and then get reward for it too? Amazing!

I pity those wretched people who dont know thisblessing, who dont perform ablution. How poor arethey!

Read on to know why.

My SinS ARE FoRgivEnUthman ibn A an (RA) said, I saw the Messengerof Allaah, may Allaah bless himand grant him peace, do wudu like I am doing wudu now.

Then he ( ) said, Anyonewho does wudu like that,will be forgiven his previouswrong actions, and his prayerand his walking to the mosque are anadded bonus. [Sahih al-Muslim]

All DooRS oF JANNAH will opEn Up FoR METhe Prophet ( ) said, No one among you does wudu and does wudu thoroughly - oradequately and then testi es,There is no god but Allaah Alonewith no partner and I testify thatMuhammad is His slave andMe s s e n g e r , without theeight doors of the Garden beingopened to him so that he can enterby whichever of them he wishes. [Sahih al-Muslim]

AnD tHEn, ill bE REcogniZED by My bElovED( ) by tRAcES oF WUDU on ME? UltiMAtE!The Prophet ( ) said, On the Day of Resurrection,my followers will be called Al-Ghurr-u l - M u h a j j a l u n from the traceof ablution and whoever can

increase the area of his radianceshould do so (i.e., by performinga b l u t i o n regularly). [Sahih

al-Bukhari]

I feel awesome! O Performer of Ablution, do you?

The Blessing Called Wudu MyVision ShawwalDhu al-Qada 1434 Page 13

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T H

E

B L E

S S I N G C

A L L

E D WUDU

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Page 14 MyVision September 2013 8 Benets of Dawah

Eight Benefits of Dawah By Abu U

The word dawah meansenjoining the good( al-Maroof : Islamicmonotheism and all that Islamorders one to do) and forbiddingthe evil ( al-Munkar : Polytheism,disbelief and all that Islam hasforbidden) to Muslims as well asnon-Muslims. This Dawah cantake a variety of forms, includingdirect conversation, or indirectlythrough distributing lea ets,

CDs, or books about Islam. Itis certainly not limited to oneformat or group of people.

Lets look at some of the manybene ts of giving dawah to helpboost our participation in thisgreat act.

FULFILL AN OBLIGATION UPON US

D awah is recognizedby scholars as beingobligatory upon every

Muslim. This means thatdawah is something of greatimportance to Allaah. Byful lling our obligatory acts welook to achieve the pleasure of

Allaah and get close to Him. Allaah says in an hadith , And My slave does not comeclose to Me with anything morebeloved to Me than what I havemade obligatory upon him. Myslave continues to come nearer

to Me through voluntary deedsuntil I love him, and when Ilove him, I become his earswith which he hears, I becomehis sight with which he sees, Ibecome his hands with whichhe strikes, I become his legswith which he strides. If he

asks Me, I shall surely grant hisrequest. [Sahih al-Bukhari]

This hadith highlights themassive reward of completingthe obligatory acts. In contrast,we should consider theconsequences of neglectingsomething that is obligatoryupon us. For example,we understand Allaah hasprescribed ve daily prayers and

the severe consequences wemay face for missing just oneof those prayers. Consequently,we should give greatconsideration to dawah beforeabandoning or neglecting it, andtherefore look to making it partof our lives in some way.

FOLLOWING MUHAMMAD ( )

Our ProphetMuhammad ( ) was adaee (caller to Islam), as

were all other prophets. Theopportunity to follow in thefootsteps of the greatest man tohave ever lived is a huge honorand favor given to us by Allaah.

As followers of Muhammad ( ),it is our responsibility ofcontinuing his work. So weshould keep in mind, whom weare imitating by giving dawah .

BE THE ONES WHO AREREMEMBERED IN THESUPPLICATION OF OTHERS

By helping someone revertto Islam or return topractising Islam, you mayearn their gratitude. Hopefullythey will remember you in their

supplications for being there todirect them to the Straight Path.

The Prophet ( ) said, Allaah,His Angels and all those in theHeavens and on Earth, evenants in their ant-hills and sh inthe water, call down blessingson those who instruct othersin bene cial knowledge. [at-Tirmidhi]

BEING PART OF THE CHANGE WEWISH TO SEE

It is common to hear peopletalk about the state of theMuslim world. But for changeto come about, we will needto change ourselves. Allaahsays, Verily! Allaah will notchange the good condition of apeople as long as they do notchange their state of goodnessthemselves. [13:11 ]

Giving dawah may help usrealize our own weakness.We should strive to impactpositively our local environmentand society with whatever skillsand abilities Allaah has blessedus with. We always wish to seethose around us, such as ourfriends, family and neighbors,from being of those that arepious and righteous. Sharingthis beautiful way of life with

others will go a long way tomaking this happen.

STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIP WITH ALLAAH

The rst person to bene tfrom the knowledge passedon in dawah is yourself.

BENEFITS OFDAWAH8

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You will strengthen your beliefand relationship with Allaah andHis chosen way of life. And itwill prevent you from becomingneglectful of Him. We asMuslims should strive to pushourselves to do better. A higherlevel of faith is likely to lead uscloser to Allaah and thereforeo er us greater rewards in thislife, as well as The Hereafter.

The companions ofMuhammad ( ) were thestrongest in faith. Their liveswere full of sacri ces of time,health, and wealth for the sakeof Allaah. This contributed to

them being of the closest to Allaah.

The Shaytaan always looks tocome close us. We need tocontinuously do good deeds todistance ourselves from him.Giving dawah will help us toavoid his clutches, as not onlywill we be performing gooddeeds, we will be encouragingothers to do so as well,presenting a double-blow to the

Shaytaan .

LEADING A HAPPIER LIFE

K nowing that you havehelped somebody to comeclose to Allaah and theProphet Muhammad ( ) willmake you feel happier. Givingdawah includes giving adviceto a fellow Muslim who is goingthrough a di cult time andreminding them how Allaah is

near and always there for themto turn to. Dawah does notrequire you to be a specialist, asthe Prophet ( ) said, Conveyfrom me, even one verse.

[Sahih al-Bukhari]

Being used as a tool by Allaahto guide someone to Islam will

give you a warm glow inside,knowing that you have helpedsave a person from shirk . AsMuslims, we know that thosewho die as disbelievers willdwell in the Hell re forever.Think of a non-Muslim neighboror colleague you have. Howwould you feel if they diedin the state of disbelief? TheProphet ( ) said, By Allaah,if a single person is guided by

Allaah through you, it will bebetter for you than the best ofcamels [Sahih al-Bukhari]] .Translate this into an exoticsports car in current terms.

Additionally, Allaah says Himselfabout the people that aresuccessful, Let there arise outof you a group of people invitingto all that is good, enjoining

al-Maroof (Islamic monotheismand all that Islam orders one todo) and forbidding al-Munkar(Polytheism and disbelief and allthat Islam has forbidden). Andit is they who are successful.

[3:104]

CONTINUE TO RECEIVE REWARDS AFTER DEATH

The Prophet ( ) said, Whena man dies, his gooddeeds come to an endexcept three: on going charity,bene cial knowledge, andrighteous o spring who will prayfor him. [Sahih al-Muslim ]

For example, you gave dawah to a non-Muslim friend, who at

the age of 19 or 20 becomesa Muslim. That friend may getmarried and have children,who are again raised on thisDeen and themselves lead along and pious life. This friendmay become a scholar, or thechildren may become scholars,or they themselves may invite

many others to Islam. Then acopy of the reward achieved byall of them will become part ofyour good deeds.

We should pick up good deedswhile we can, because soon wewill be in our graves and thenwe will not have the capacity toperform them.

HELP AGAINST THE QUESTIONINGOF THE HEREAFTER

We will be askedabout the knowledgewe possessed inquestioning of the Day ofJudgement. The Prophet ( )talked about the consequencesof those who do not spreadpossessed knowledge,Whoever is asked about someknowledge that he knows, thenhe conceals it, he will be bridledwith bridle of re. [at-Tirmidhi]

By engaging in dawah , we canhelp protect ourselves againstthe punishment of Allaah. TheProphet ( ) said, By Allaah,in whos Hands is my soul, youwill enjoin the good and prohibitthe evil (or else), Allaah will soonsend upon you a punishmentfrom Him, then you will callupon Him and He will notanswer you. [at-Tirmidhi]

The di erent points mentionedhere are just some of thebene ts of being involved indawah . It is also worth re ectingon the potential pitfalls of

neglecting this important duty. A point to consider is that withso many statements relatingto dawah , they provide strongevidence about the importanceof dawah with Allaah, and how itshould also be a regular featurein our lives.

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Page 16 MyVision September 2013 The Advantages of a Morning Walk

www.healthyliving.azcentral.com By Reb

Early morning walking can jump-start your system, clearyour mind and get you ready to tackle the stresses of daily life.Some of the many advantages of a brisk stroll early in the dayare the cool and quiet of deserted sidewalks or leafy trails, an

early morning energy lift and the afterglow of tranquility andcalm that will center you for the rest of the day.

THE EAR LY B IRD EFFEC T

In a 2011 study publis hed in t he journal Medicine & Science, researc hers f ound t hat t he timing of your walking routine

could positively in uence

important healt h f actors suc h as blood pressure.Morning walkers lowered t heir blood pressure more t han t hose w ho exercised later in t he day.According to t he MayoClinic.com website, morning walkers also tend to exercise more consistently t han t hose w ho try to t in aerobic time during daytime or evening

hours. A regular routine is better in t he long-term t han s hort bursts of inconsistent exercise. Making a morning walk a habit can give you maximum returns on your healt h investment.

WALKING & ME TABOLISM

Anot her proven bene t

of walking rst t hing in

t he morning is a hig her base metabolic rate f or t he entire day. An increase in metabolism can translate into signi cant weig ht loss, even wit hout dieting. A vigorous walking program t hat raises your target heart rate into t he aerobic zone will stick wit h you and will keep you alert allday. A more

energized system is also less likely to crave quick but healt h destroying pick-me-ups suc h as sugar or caf f eine.

S TRESS & EAR LY MOR NING WALKING

A solitary ramble in t he early hours can contribute to a more peacef ul mind-set t hroug hout t he day. T he calming ef f ect may be more t han just p

syc hological. A

study publis hed in t he August 2010 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports &

Exercise discovered t hat even c hildren w ho walked to sc hool in t he morning

s howed less stress w hen conf ronted wit h tests and exams. T he bioc hemical

bene ts of walking also made t he c hildren more alert and better able to

concentrate in class.

MEDITATION & MOREAn early walk through a serene and still-sleeping neighborhood can be a wonderf ul path to more meditative state of mind. The mild morning hours, bef ore the mental clutter and con icts of a busy work day intrude, can enhance your mood f ar more than trying to ght the late af ternoon and evening crowds. So start early and empty your mind f or the boost to your brain and body.

THE ADVANTAGES OF A

M R NING WA LK

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Stars in the Dark Sky By Saleha Ahm

H ave you ever tried lyingdown at night facing thedark sky after a tiring daywhen you are stuck up in lots ofproblems, when everything justseems bad and hopeless? Youllsee a huge, black, quiet, terrifyingsky above you, just like yourproblems. When nothing seemsto be coming out right, all you seeis darkness.

Now let me give you anotherdimension to it; we see the stars,dont we? Dont they just beautifythe sky? Of course they do, theirarrangements, the sequence,they just seem amazing, andwithout them the sky would beincomplete, it would seem darkerand darker.

Take these stars as the hopes,solutions or the way outs fromour problems. It is us who can

search for these hopes andsolutions in the darkest andtoughest problems in our lives.

Allaah does not charge asoul except [with that within]its capacity. It will have [theconsequence of] what [good] ithas gained, and it will bear [theconsequence of] what [evil] it hasearned. [2:286]

Allaah never burdens us withsomething we cant handle,whatever we go through in ourlives we are given the power todeal with it. The solution is toknow what reaction we shouldshow at the time of test.

B eing positive and knowingthat My Allaah will neverdo bad to me, He wantsme to be close to him, he wantsme to learn something from it, He

is preparing me for something bigwhich I dont know but Allaah.

So when we take thingsfrom a positive angle,everything just goes back

to normal i.e., our state of mind,our energies, everything becauseno matter how cloudy the sky is,how dense is the fog, how heavyit rains or hails, the stars (hopes)would always be there, if not abrighter one but a dim one wouldbe there.

Making sincere dua to Allaah onlyand being hopeful for his helpand blessings can solve anything!Try it!

O you who have believed, seek helpthrough patience and prayer. Indeed,Allaah is with the patient. [2:153]

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Ar-Riya is the practice of performing various forms ofworship in order to be seen and praised by people

[Fundamentals of Tawheed, Dr. Abu Ameenah BilalPhillips] . The opposite can also be true. Sometimes weworry too much about what other people think of us.Sometimes our perception of them and consequentcognitive response prevents us from doing ibadaah (worship) and seeking Islamic knowledge.

When we become too focused on other people, weunconsciously reshape our views, priorities andintentions out of fear or want of their acceptanceand approval. In the same way, we are sometimesembarrassed to excel in the Deen because we areover-concerned about what everyone else is doingand how everyone thinks of us.

Its human to mimic other humans. We all do thatsometimes when suddenly adopt a certain fashionor persona, change career, car or house after seeinga friend or a colleague do the same. But trying tobe someone we are not will always leave us feelingunful lled, however much we admire the change. Theonly true way to be happy is to enjoy our individuality.

And in this case, become relaxed and comfortable withthe unique perspectives, quirks and idiosyncrasiesrevealed by Allaah.

What will people think of me? What if I dont t inanymore?

Sometimes it is just our imagination that scaresand de-motivates us. So challenge your thinking toovercome negativity. Hold on, I am not doing this for

Allaah? This is to make my Creator happy. And how doI know people are not going to like me? Some peoplewill like me, some will think Im okay, and some mightbe indi erent.

See the best in others by not assuming that they seethe worst in us. Maybe they will be inspired by us oneday and follow our example? Maybe all they neededwas some motivation and after seeing us so dedicatedto our studies and salah they also want to join.

Remember, people will think what theyll think. Ifsomeone forms an opinion of us based on super ciality,then it is up to them, not us, to reform those opinionsbased on a more objective and rational view.

Some of us come from really competitive families orfriends circles. We may have siblings or relatives,neighbors or colleagues who think and treat us asif we are less intelligent or talented than them. Theirbehavior becomes even more narcissist when we startpracticing Islam. They will seek attention by puttingus down and criticizing our new-found interest/ preoccupation with Islam. This may a ect our ownself-esteem and struggle. We may resort doubting ourself or worst, we may end up showing o our ibadaahor knowledge to sh for compliments.

So it is best to walk away from any confrontation orcompetition with show-o s. They need an audience

to boast about their achievements so dont encouragethem by listening to their over-in ated ego. Keepemotions at bay, we dont need to defend ourselvesbecause our reward is with Allaah. Alhamdulillah ,

Allaah gave us the opportunity to see Him in a newlight and comprehend His religion. Our views de ectbecause they dont understand the value of Allaah orappreciate the blessing of Islam. Either give dawah tothese show-o with patience or stay away from theirin uence.

www.ummsulaym.blogspot.com By Asf

TOO SHY TO BE

RELIGIOUS

Too Shy to be Religious MyVision ShawwalDhu al-Qada 1434 Page 19

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